4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review

<P><B>Youngest stabber:</B> A 14-year-old male Buford Middle School student is arrested for knifing a fellow student on 9th Street SW April 29 around 3pm– over a girl, Liesel Nowak reports in the <I>Daily Progress</I>.
<P><B>Worst alleged alcohol-related death:</B> A man is found dead in his North Berkshire Road apartment April 29 from drinking too much, police believe.
<P><B>Lamest case: </B>Impersonating-an-officer charges in Alexandria are dropped April 25 against former Charlottesville sheriff's deputy Steven Wayne Shifflett after a witness describes being pulled over by a 25-year-old Hispanic male about 5'8" and 140 pounds. Shifflett is 51, taller, heavier, and not Hispanic– and says he's never been to Alexandria, according to a Kate Andrews <I>DP</I> story. This is the second time Shifflett has been cleared of impersonating a police officer.
<P><B>Most repetitious Charlottesville School Board activity: </B>Hiring a superintendent. City Council appoints an advisory committee to help in this year's search, following the April 21 resignation of Scottie Griffin, who was hired last July 1.
<P><B>Worst decision for Laura Purnell:</B> The six-figure-salaried job of the assistant superintendent is cut, and Purnell is offered a job as a coordinator. After Purnell castigated Griffin in a letter, calling the former superintendent "bullying," Griffin tried to eliminate Purnell's job.
<P><B>Most memorable public comment:</B> A "woodchuck"– actually a citizen named Bruce Hlavin– appears before City Council May 2 to protest the Meadowcreek Parkway.
<P><B>Best way to get face time with a city councilor:</B> Wednesdays between 11am and 1pm, a councilor will be available in the mayor's office in City Hall.
<P><B>Latest Foxfield numbers:</B> Albemarle police report seven arrests at or after the April 30 races, including one for distribution of cocaine, one DUI, two disorderly conduct, and two trespassing. Police attribute at least five motor vehicle accidents to the event, which sold out its 24,000 tickets in advance.
<P><B>Most surprising Republican presidential contender:</B> Senator George Allen leads a <I>National Journal</I> insiders poll as having the best chance to snag the nomination in 2008.
<P><B>Maybe not so surprising:</B> Allen is holding two fundraisers in New Hampshire for his 2006 Senate re-election campaign, the <I>Richmond Times-Dispatch</I> reports.
<P><B>Latest Falwell target:</B> Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell warns potential filibuster swing vote Senator John Warner that he'll be very upset if Warner doesn't support a Republican proposal to eradicate the time-honored Senate tradition for the appointment of judicial nominees, according to the <I>News & Advance</I> in Lynchburg.
<P><B>Best rent deal: </B>A five-bedroom pavilion on the Lawn for $921, and that includes water, electricity, and trash.
<P><B>Worst air: </B>Virginia gets an "F" from the American Lung Association for its particle pollution and ozone in Northern Virginia.
<P><B>Most improvement:</B> Bristol, Roanoke, and Salem get passing air quality grades this year.
<P><B>Most generic name change:</B> Shenandoah Shakespeare's new moniker: American Shakespeare Center.
<P><B>Biggest book fest: </B>This year's Festival of the Book claims a new record attendance of 22,874.
<P><B>Latest debut by a local filmmaker:</B> Producer Barry "<I>Station Agent</I>" Sisson is set to premiere <I>Charlie's Party</I> at the CineVegas Film Festival June 13 after tweaking the picture after screenings at Vinegar Hill and the Jefferson.
<P><B>Best bridge:</B> <I>Southern Living</I> rates Natural Bridge one of its "most favorite spots in the South" in its mid-April 2005 issue.
<P><B>Best bride (runaway): </B>Jennifer Wilbanks gains national attention by fleeing on a bus to Albuquerque and claiming she was kidnapped days before her huge Duluth, Georgia, wedding.
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